Ireland tests hydrogen buses in the transport fleet
The trials will inform the department which technology would be used to support a sustainable transport system across Ireland.
The Department of Transport, Ireland has worked with Bus Éireann, Go-Ahead Ireland, BOC Gas, and Byrne Ó Cleirigh to test hydrogen buses.
The testing of hydrogen buses is the second phase and is part of the Department of Transport’s Low Emission Bus Trial. The tests results will form part of the decision-making process to help further transition the public transport fleet to lower-emitting fuels and technologies.
Following the testing of a single-deck hydrogen fuel-cell bus last November, a new hydrogen fuel cell electric double-deck bus was tested on the 25th & 26th of August in Dublin.
The vehicles have been tested on a modified Dublin Bus route 9 to simulate real driving conditions while examining emissions and energy efficiencies. An assessment of costs and infrastructural requirements are also undertaken.
The tests are the final phase of the Department’s Low-Emission Bus Trial, which has previously tested a range of alternative fuel technologies, including electric, hybrid and gas technologies. The report on the findings of Phase Two of the Low-Emission Bus Trial will be published later this year.
These final stages of testing alternative fuel technologies will inform how the bus fleet will operate and how to support a sustainable transport system across Ireland. The trials will also provide practical insight into the operation and impact of hydrogen technology and allow the department to assess it alongside other previously tested bus technologies.
The department will examine all available technologies to power its future urban bus fleets while improving sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Ireland has now committed to no longer purchase diesel-only buses for urban public bus fleets.
Eamon Ryan, Minister for Transport, Ireland, said, “In line with climate action targets, we are investing in alternatively fuelled vehicle technology across bus and rail with the objective of transitioning all public transport to low-zero emission fuels and technologies.”
The National Transport Authority (NTA) and Bus Éireann recently unveiled three of the new hydrogen-fuel-cell-electric double-deck buses which are now used on commuter services in the Greater Dublin Area. The buses initially serve Bus Éireann’s route 105X, which runs between Dublin and Ratoath, County Meath.
